Eliezer Palczynski

Eliezer Manoach Palczynski (November 11, 1911 - October 6, 2007), known affectionately as Reb Leizer Palachinsky, was a famed Rosh Yeshiva in Jerusalem and alumnus of the Mir Yeshiva.
Rabbi Palczynski was born on November 11, 1911, to Rabbi Shlomo Yehuda Leib Palchinsky near the town of Dvinsk in Latvia. Rabbi Shlomo Yehuda Leib was the son-in-law of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka and briefly served as the Chief Rabbi of Dvinsk.
As a lad in Dvinsk, Rabbi Palczynski developed a close relationship with the Rogatchover Gaon, often conversing with him about detailed Talmudic topics. He also served as a personal attendant to Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk. Rabbi Palczynski studied in Slabodka and eventually moved to Mir Yeshiva were excelled in his studies, becoming a favorite of its Rosh Yeshiva, his uncle, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, and Mashgiach Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz. In the winter of 1937, he was chosen to be amongst an elite group of students from Mir Yeshiva sent to learn under the tutelage of the Brisker Rav in Brisk. This group included Rabbi Aryeh Leib Malin and the Brisker Rav's future son-in-law, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Feinstein. There Rabbi Palczynski became a close protégé of the Brisker Rav, a relationship which continued until the latter's death in Jerusalem in 1959.
He survived the Holocaust through the efforts of Rabbi Mordecai Dubin, an Agudath Israel activist , and emigrated to Palestine in 1940. In 1944, he married Ettel, the daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Levin a prominent leader of Orthodoxy in Jerusalem, thus making Rabbi Palczynski a brother-in-law to Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv. During this period, Rabbi Palczynski began a correspondence with the Chazon Ish of Bnei Brak, eventually moving there to help his uncle, Rabbi Issac Sher, open a branch of the Slabodka Yeshiva. In 1948, he established his own yeshiva named Beis Aryeh in homage to his illustrious father-in-law. He served as the head of this yeshiva for 60 years until his death. In the 1960s and 1970s he also served as Rosh Yeshiva of the Tomchei Temimim system in Kfar Chabad and Lod and for a brief while lead the Kollel of the Gateshead Yeshiva in England.
He died on October 6, 2007, at the age of 96 and he was eulogized in Mir Yeshiva in the presence of thousands of mourners. Amongst those who addressed the audience at his funeral were his colleague from Mir Yeshiva Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum and the present Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel. He was buried on the Mount of Olives.
Legacy
Amongst Rabbi Palczynski's students are:
* Rabbi Mattisyahu Solomon
* Rabbi Aviezer Piltz
* Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel
* Rabbi Chaim Sarna
* Rabbi Moshe Shapiro
* Rabbi Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi
* Rabbi Shaya Cohen is a son-in-law of Reb Eliezer
Rabbi Palczynski published two Talmudic tracts (one on Seder Nashim and one on Seder Moed), each entitled Sholom Yehuda () in memory of his father.

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